This past Saturday the family went to Stratford, Ontario to take in some live theatre. We saw the show Something Rotten! at the Festival Theatre.
It was my first time visiting Stratford and we spent the day window shopping in the downtown core and visiting the Shakesperean Gardens—you know the touristy stuff.
But all of that was just the setup, the appetizer, the amuse-bouche for the show that evening. And what a show it was!
I’m no theatre expert. I’ve been to a handful of shows: Phantom, Tommy, Rock of Ages, The Producers, Lion King, and most recently we took the kids to Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. I’m sure there were others, but those are the ones that come to mind. While they all had their strengths. I think I enjoyed Something Rotten! over all the others!
It was funny and irreverent. It had great music and performances. I got probably 75% of the musical references and still enjoyed it. My daughter loved it as well, but she’s predisposed given that she’s taken a recent interest in theatre performance.
The true test was my son. The 17 year-old hater of all musicals. Even when we watch a Disney film, if there is a musical number, out comes the phone and away goes the attention.
I sat next to him during the show. He loved every second of it. He laughed his ass off and even stood and clapped during the many ovations throughout the show.
Something Rotten! hath done the impossible. It hath turned my teenaged son into a lover of musicals…well…this one at least.
That’s the highest praise I can give this show. The show ends its Stratford run this November. I highly recommend you catch it with this cast if you can before it ends. It was simply perfection!
That’s two straight weeks and two straight memorable live performances! Last week it was the Extreme concert, this week Something Rotten!
You can’t beat live!
What are you thinking?